BURBAGE CC were left to rue a short downpour as they were forced to settle for a draw in their Senior League premier division tie at Bharat.

The Hinckley Road outfit face a stern test this week with the visit of in-form Leicester Caribbeans while skipper Tom Payne will have to do without key all-rounder Lee Martin, who suffered a broken finger during the Bharat clash.

On Saturday, Burbage won the toss and elected to bowl first. Dan Heath and Neil White got off to a steady start with the ball but it was the introduction of Payne which saw wickets begin to tumble.

The visiting captain bowled an impressive nine-over spell of seam bowling to claim 4-34, while Craig Simpkin (2-30 from six overs) helped Burbage on their way to taking nine Bharat wickets as the hosts finished on 219 from their 45 overs.

With Martin struggling with injury, White moved up the order to open with Broadbent and helped get his side off to a solid start before he perished.

Huw Marsden then joined Broadbent and together the pair built an excellent partnership, Marsden making 40 before he was out while Broadbent completed a deserved half-century before falling for 51.

Contributions through the order from Aaron Barber (24), Owen Williams (15) and Simpkin (19) helped keep Burbage well up with the required rate as Bharat looked to be on the back foot.

However, a late heavy shower forced the sides off and Burbage lost three overs in which to chase down their total. Jonny Larsen gave the visitors brief hope of still reaching their target with a well struck six before he went for 10 and it was ultimately left to Martin (21 not out) and Payne (eight not out) to guide Burbage to 213-8 and an agonising six runs short of victory from their shortened 42 overs.

Payne said: “It was frustrating. When it rains late in the game and overs are lost, it will always favour the fielding side but that’s the way it goes.

“The important thing for us was the performance which showed a lot of character from a very young side. We had a heavy defeat to Newbold the previous week and I asked the boys for a response which they gave me.”

Burbage 2nd went top of Division Four with a four-wicket win over previous league-leaders Anstey.

Fielding first, Burbage were made to work hard for their wickets but managed to restrict their opponents to 202-9. Pavan Singh (3-45 from 12 overs) and Jim Bostock (3-22) took the majority of the Anstey wickets.

In reply, acting skipper Chris Atkins got his side off to the perfect start with some powerful shots through the off side. He went on to score 37, which was matched by Chris Barber, while John Timson made 29.

The key knock came from Bostock however, as along with Marc Harrison (17), he guided his side to a deserved victory with an unbeaten 32.